Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit Leather - refined sugar free

Well, a few girlfriends and I are leaving for a personal trip on the West Coast Trail in a few days and the last minute details are starting to come together. Nicole said she was going to make strawberry fruit leather...and then roll Nutella up in it (Oh wow, your now talking my language). That sounded like something I might be able to pull off in the next few days. Upon driving home I realized the Rhubarb plant in the garden would be the perfect pairing for this particular endeavor....Eureka!

After looking up how to make strawberry fruit leather on the internet there are loads of recipes but all involve adding sugar to reduced fruit puree, something my brother is amazing at finding alternative sources of natural sugar to sweeten items of sort. Last fall he created a crab-apple butter that was like candy in a jar! He said he used apple juice concentrate as the sweetener. So this is my attempt at creating Strawberry Rhubarb fruit leather by substituting apple juice concentrate instead of refined sugar. I ended up having to add a little unrefined sugar to cut the tartness of the rhubarb, but much less than other recipes were calling for, and nothing that had been bleached in the process :-) You can easily adjust the amount of strawberry or rhubarb in the recipe depending on what you have available and/or what flavour you are trying to achieve.

Getting ready for the season - First Aid refreshers!

Spring time seems to creep up, its winter winter winter and then all of a sudden we are on a daily countdown till the season starts. Isn't that always the way?! There are so many things to do in so little time...food purchasing and prep for 25+ trips of 7 - 10 days in duration, vehicle inspections, gear inspection and maintenance (not to mention new gear wish lists - mine is a little out of control at the moment but I am sure that is another blog post in the making), training hikes, and re-certifications are just a few things that pop into my head.

Most of us at Sea to Sky have been with Slipstream First Aid for many years as they are just the best in the business. They have an extended program that allows you to hop into any course (if space available) and refresh your skills, something other companies don't do. It is great to start thinking about risk management, safety, first aid scenarios, evacuations and the like at the beginning of a season. I am due up for re-cert next year so hopping into these individual days helps me keep my skills fresh but also make my re-cert easier next season, after all if you don't use it you'll lose it! PLUS you get to meet fantastic like minded professionals in the industry. 

JP Bandaging up a patient - Photo by Slipstream First Aid

Bowron Lakes Slideshow

Have you crossed the WEST COAST TRAIL off your bucket list?

Intrinsic Rewards as Guides

Beth Dempster best expresses the intrinsic rewards we as guides receive from our work...

 “Working as a guide brings two important rewards. One of them is filling my soul with needed sustenance – an outdoor fix that carries me through the long winter. Since I could do this on my own, the second reward – although more subtle – is in many ways more important. It arises through the many people I have met on Sea to Sky adventures. For each of us, regardless of our skills and reasons for participating, trips have involved new experiences and new challenges, all within a new and different setting. And what a setting! It’s a wilderness environment (which entails extra risks as well as extra beauty) with a group of people that begin as strangers and leave with connections. Challenge, wilderness, and cooperative companionship – it’s a rich combination that brings out a unique and remarkable energy. It’s a mingling of helping hands, campfires, thunderstorms, good food, triumphs, struggles, sore muscles, late-night conversations and laughter. To be a part of such rich experiences, more especially, to be able to facilitate and enable them, is a reward that is unmatched in my other endeavours. Even after all these years, guiding for Sea to Sky continues to be a joy and a privilege.”

West Coast Trail Slideshow

Flying into the Tombstone Mountains - Part I

We patiently wait for our air transportation in the parking lot of the Grizzly Lake trail head, entrance to Tombstone Territorial park back-country.  As I scan the horizon I hope to see  a yellow craft sporting the name "Trans North Helicopters" emerge from the low cloud cover any second now....to no avail nothing. Seconds feel like hours and minutes feel like an eternity. We've taken all precautions we need "just in case" we can't fly in and meet up with the other half of our expedition mates, but we're also hoping not to have to use it.

Pot of Gold - Talus Lake, Tombstone Territory

We are headed into one of the most stunning areas the Yukon has to offer, the Tombstone Mountains.  Situated approximately 75km NE of Dawson City, Tombstone Territorial Park is teaming with colors of the coming autumn. A palate of crimson, gold, green and orange set fire to the hillsides of the Dempster Highway - this is the finest time to visit this northern region also known as the "Patagonia of the North". Memorable for its black granite peaks, idyllic alpine lakes and subarctic tundra landscapes, Tombstone Territorial Park is an icon among Yukon destinations. It is a place where the silence is so loud it is deafening, a place where the only sound you hear is the breath coming from your own body.